Man to stand trial in slaying

FLINT -- The short in-store video shows two disguised men strong-arm the store owner, with one assailant firing shots that hit his partner and the clerk.

Although the masked men are not identified, one gave a statement to police that led to arrests and murder charges in the March 7 slaying of Wajdi "J.J." Badr, 41, in the Carpenter Supermarket, 1720 E. Carpenter Road.

Charges against a co-defendant, a Flint man, 22, were dismissed without prejudice earlier, but police and prosecutors said the case against that man is under investigation.

After being shot during the holdup, McGill was taken to McLaren Regional Medical Center and dropped off by someone who left.

McGill was registered under a different name. But because he was dropped off within 25 minutes of Badr's shooting, police linked him to the incident.

The in-store video was played for Roberts while Flint Police Sgt. Jeff Fray testified. It shows two men, one with a mask and another with a pillowcase over his head, enter the store just after 10 p.m.

After the pillowcase bandit jumped a counter and struggled with Badr, the masked man fired shots that hit Badr at least three times and the man with a pillowcase at least once in the back.

After his arrest, Fray said that McGill identified his co-defendant, and said he gave him the pillowcase to wear.

Fray said McGill told him it was supposed to be a robbery and not a murder, although he knew his companion had a weapon.

Anyone with information on the Badr slaying is asked to call Fray at (810) 237-6907; the police patrol bureau at (810) 237-6801; or CrimeStoppers at (800) 422-JAIL.

Badr, a husband and father of two young sons, was liked and respected in the northeastern Flint community where he did business since the late 1990s, extending credit to his customers and giving candy to neighborhood children.